As the partial federal government shutdown continued this week, one thing is certain. For the first time since President Trump took the oath of office, the Democrats have gained some level of …

Since my last column, there have been quite a few exciting changes to my house in Soudan, including that fresh paint job I was anguishing about. The house went from a boring grayish green to fresh …

Minnesotans have exceptional confidence in the fairness, accuracy, and integrity of our election procedures, and that confidence is seen year after year in the highest voter turnout in the country. …

As someone trained as a scientist and who teaches science at Michigan State University, watching the Sept. 22 press conference in which President Trump and DHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. alleged a …

The news on Monday from the Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration is moving to bar Harvard University from receiving federal funds may sound like one more salvo in the president’s …

Inflation at the grocery store is spiking, and most agriculture and food economists believe it’s only going to get worse. But unlike the inflation we experienced in the wake of the COVID-19 …

Matt Mikkelsen spoke at the Ely Tuesday group last week on a topic that is dear to my heart and nervous system: the importance of quiet. Matt is a sound recordist, audio engineer, and documentary …

America, we need to talk.  When did we get to this point where so many people are fighting for anyone to have the ability to possess any type of gun — at the expense of the lives of …

I don’t know how many times I have heard at presentations concerning potential mining in the BWCAW watershed: “we have the best environmental regulations.”  That is usually …

At the Sept. 9 Greenwood town board meeting, Supervisor Bradach claimed that my recent letters to the editor on the decreased response level by the township’s EMRs were bashing our current …

President Trump is appealing a court ruling that his tariffs are illegal.  Trump has been using tariffs to raise revenues, but also for political purposes. Trump has been imposing tariffs on …

Back in June, we urged voters to play their proper role in tamping down the rising tide of political violence, by voting out politicians who cling to power by furthering division in America. At the …

It is a late Saturday afternoon on Sept. 13 and the leaves on the trees are changing color fast and the golden light of warm autumn evenings is here. It’s a favorite time of year for me and …

The hyperbole came fast and furious at times during the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s public hearing in Virginia last week on Keetac’s water discharge permits and the …

When Donald Trump slapped a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian steel and aluminum, the American media did what it always does: called a panel of economists, invited two guys named Doug to debate supply …

Maslow’s psychology of human potential offers a sensible template for new economic principles and practice. Instead of tracking and enabling hoarding of wealth for a few, we begin with tracking …

As an activist in the environmental movement since 1970, I must acknowledge a big mistake. It was understandable and well-intentioned, but a blunder nevertheless. I refer to the vehement opposition …

In Minnesota, there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing. But what excuse can we make for poor air quality? Our air quality has seldom been this bad. Just a few weeks ago, we had one of …

As a member of our Greenwood community, I am disappointed again by the distorted comments of JoAnn Bassing in last week’s paper. She mistakenly believes you and I are gullible enough to fall …

According to a recent editorial in an Ely newspaper, “Our economy needs some help….  We need to bring people here to spend money.”   Recent changes in the dynamics …

If an accurate history of America’s descent into authoritarianism is ultimately written, it will pinpoint Chief Justice John Roberts and the court he has led for the past two decades as the …

This past week, I’ve been reflecting on just how fortunate I am to have had the childhood I did – one that could have turned out very differently. I wasn’t born in a log cabin …

In the annals of unsung heroes, the people who undertake the Sisyphean task of maintaining the portages and campsites throughout the 1.1-million-acre Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness must be at …

Last weekend, as my mind was reeling from the latest insane, irresponsible, unethical, selfish, greedy, illegal, ridiculous, unpresidential thing that Donald Trump perpetrated, I felt a wave of …

Sen. Grant Hauschild Growing up, my favorite place in the world was my grandparent’s lake cabin in central Minnesota, and now I’m raising my own kids here in Northern Minnesota with the …